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Old 03-23-2019, 07:17 PM   #12
BirdWatcher
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Souffront, Smart, Brown all now free agents

Three members of the 1971 Brewers team have filed for free agency: Ruben Souffront, whom the Brewers non-tendered prior to the arbitration hearing deadline, swingman Will Smart, and reliever David Brown.

Souffront we have already talked about here. He was long a management favorite and the team hopes only the best for him in the future. Smart, who was signed as a free agent by the team back in the winter of 1968, pitched very well as an occasional starter for the past few years. But in a crowded staff there just was not room left for him and it was decided to let him see if he couldn't find a better fit elsewhere. Veteran lefthanded reliever David Brown showed little sign of decline at the age of 36 and was a valued member of the Brewers 'pen since 1967. It was a difficult decision to let him walk, but with a number of younger arms having earned a chance at least for role on the big league club, management reluctantly decided to say goodbye to Brown.

A few other long-time Brewers farm-hands, Bobby Arends, who had pitched parts of 3 seasons in a Brewers uniform from 1967 through 1969, and Tony Maldonado, are now on the open market. Arends had 15 starts as a Brewer during the 1968 season and actually fared quite well (9-5, 2.55) but has never been considered talented enough to crack the rotation in any permanent way. He's a high-quality individual, very well liked, and the team hopes the best for him in his future.
Maldonado was part of the WPK's inaugural draft and has spent his entire professional career in the Brewers minor league system. While he has never earned a spot on the Brewers active roster, the thought is that he has enough talent that with the right organization he could provide some value on a big league roster.
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